BRAC and transit versus automobility

The biggest aspect that the military base consolidation planning process ignored was the impact on local infrastructure in the areas where facilities were to be directed. Many of the facilities to be closed, especially in the Washington region, were in areas of high transit capacity and connectivity such as Arlington County, and the new facilities are in most every instance, in locations with relatively poor transit connections. (I wrote about this in 2005, when the Commissaion first disclosed its recommendations, which included many changes within the DC-Baltimore region.)

Today's Examiner discusses the need to build a highway exit off of I-395 to serve a conglomeration of offices to be located in Alexandria, see "Study: More construction necessary to accommodate BRAC traffic." From the article:

Direct access from Interstate 395 to Alexandria's Mark Center will be needed to accommodate an anticipated crush of traffic when the complex is finished, according to a new report.

The Mark Center, a mixed-use business park, is slated to add a Department of Defense office project in 2011 as part of the military's Base Realignment and Closure plan. The complex plans include two multistory office buildings, two parking garages, a public Transportation Center and other support facilities. The project is expected to bring 6,400 new jobs to the city.

The study by the transportation consulting group Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. also found that additional turn lanes on Seminary Road and Beauregard Street are necessary to accommodate future traffic -- but still won't be enough.

While a couple weeks ago, the Gazette discussed the need to enhance transit service for the Bethesda Naval Medical Center, with which the Walter Reed Army Hospital is being consolidated. The Medical Center is across the street from a red line subway station, although as the article, "Officials push bus transit for Navy Med commuters: 2011 campus expansion expected to affect infrastructure," points out, in the near term, it's not possible to add cars to the subway trains to provide more capacity.

This is a demonstration that despite the fact that seemingly, the federal government requires transportation demand management planning for all federal facilities, including military installations, in practice the law is not followed.

In any case, most of the changes in location of the military installations will increase automobile trips.

This should have had to have been mitigated, at the expense of the federal government. Were transportation costs to have been taken into effect in the consideration process, probably different decisions would have been made in many instances.